By completing the form below, you'll be entered into our secure, coordinated network of community resources, powered by Unite Us, that is available to help. A specialist will contact you after you submit the form.
The Luzerne County Bar Association Charitable Foundation recently continued its support of the Luzerne County Head Start Alumni Scholarship Program with a $1,000 donation.
Established in 1987, the LCHS Alumni Scholarship Program honors the achievements of former Head Start students set to graduate from high school and continue their education. Since its inception, the program has awarded 333 scholarships totaling $333,450 to outstanding students who began their educational journey as preschoolers at Head Start.
LCHS will honor the next class of scholarship students during its 59th Anniversary Celebration in May. This marks the 15th year for the Luzerne County Bar Association Charitable Foundation Scholarship.
Pictured from left: Lesa Butera, Charitable Foundation board member; Atty. Catherine R. O’Donnell, Charitable Foundation president; Lynn Evans Biga, LCHS executive director; Beth White, LCHS assistant executive director; and Atty. Cheryl Sobeski-Reedy, Bar Association president.
Dana Weidman, teacher at the Mehoopany Center of Luzerne County Head Start
Dana Weidman experienced what she calls the “full circle of life of Head Start.”
Her Head Start journey began in 1999 as a 3-year-old preschool student at the Beekman Street Center of Luzerne County Head Start. Weidman credits the program with setting a foundation for her future success, from academics to socializing with peers. Her teacher even inspired her future career path.
After two years of preschool at LCHS, Weidman successfully transitioned to kindergarten. However, her Head Start story didn’t end there.
Later, Weidman decided to give back to LCHS as a volunteer. She primarily volunteered for Jump Start, a supplemental program the agency offers to a select group of incoming students every summer, and helped out teachers in their classrooms. This included her mother, Aimee Schneider, a longtime LCHS teacher who now works in the Edwardsville Center.
As a senior at Coughlin High School, Weidman earned an LCHS Alumni Scholarship from the agency that allowed her to purchase textbooks for her first year at Wilkes University. She originally pursued nursing, but it just didn’t feel right. Knowing her heart was in early childhood and elementary education, Weidman switched majors. She graduated in 2018.
After college, she heard of a job opportunity where it all began: Luzerne County Head Start. The agency’s Mehoopany Center in Wyoming County needed a teacher, and Weidman had no doubt that she would be the perfect fit.
“It’s actually really emotional for me because that’s where my roots started,” she said.
Knowing firsthand the importance of giving children a “Head Start” in school and life, Weidman appreciates being a part of the mission for future generations. She wants students to think of school as a safe place to learn and have fun.
“The best part about being a Head Start teacher is to see the growth from Day 1 to Day 180,” she said.
Several “mission moments” come to mind when Weidman reflects on her time at LCHS. It spoke volumes to Weidman when a former Head Start student, now in fourth grade, told her “Miss Dana, I wish that I can come back to your classroom.”
“Once they step foot into my classroom, I always tell their parents that they’re my children now, so I will treat them and love them and teach them how I would want my child to be taught and loved and cared for,” she said.
United Way of Wyoming Valley visited the Beekman Street Center on December 19 for a holiday storytime and check presentation.
United Way of Wyoming Valley President and CEO Bill Jones (also known as Buddy the Elf), read “The Poky Little Puppy’s Wonderful Winter Day” to Classrooms #3 and 5. Each child unwrapped their own copy of the book from United Way to read at home.
United Way of Wyoming Valley President and CEO Bill Jones with students and staff at the Beekman Street Center.
Luzerne County Head Start relies on funding from United Way of Wyoming Valley to provide comprehensive services to pregnant women, children from birth to age 3, and their families through its Early Head Start home visiting program. Before the storytime, United Way formally presented a $75,000 check for EHS funding that LCHS received earlier this year.
LCHS is grateful for its continued support from the local United Way.
From left: LCHS Assistant Executive Director Beth White, LCHS Executive Director Lynn Evans Biga, and United Way of Wyoming Valley President and CEO Bill Jones.
PNC Bank showed its appreciation for early childhood educators at Luzerne County Head Start.
As part of its Grow Up Great® initiative, PNC gave teacher appreciation gifts to 10 randomly selected Head Start classrooms and Early Head Start family educators.
Classrooms in the Back Mountain, Nanticoke LCCC, Beekman Street, Edwardsville, Nanticoke, Tunkhannock and Dodson centers, as well as an EHS Wilkes-Barre family educator, each received a gift box containing a $250 Lakeshore Learning gift card, colored pencils, breathing cards, a sensory ring and a wellness journal.
Pictured from left: LCHS Executive Director Lynn Evans Biga, LCHS Assistant Executive Director Beth White, Beekman Street teachers Miriam Latalladi, Suzanne O’Gorman and Krista Moss, EHS Family Educator Ashley McAndrew, and Angela Mariotti, PNC Bank and LCHS Board of Directors.
Children at Luzerne County Head Start will have warm coats this winter thanks to the generosity of Bafile Family Chiropractic in Sugarloaf, a longtime community partner.
Bafile Family Chiropractic collected 28 coats through its annual Coats for Kids drive for children in LCHS programs. It’s been a tradition at their practice for 15 years. LCHS staff quickly distributed the coats to families throughout the agency.
Pictured from left: Dr. Courtney Brosious holding daughter Kendall Schoennagle, Jill Bafile, LCHS Family Engagement Specialists Kelly Lyons and Kati Autolitano, and Dr. Joe Bafile.
Luzerne County Head Start, Inc. (LCHS) will once again provide its ‘Jump Start’ summer learning experience to children in the summer of 2024, thanks to a golf tournament sponsored by Navient; a company that provides technology-enabled education finance and business processing solutions.
The annual event held at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club in Mountain Top raised approximately $20,000 for LCHS’s Jump Start program.
The program is a 4-week-long summer learning experience that offers comprehensive services for 30 eligible 3 and 4-year-old children who will attend LCHS in the fall.
This year marked the 17th year for the tournament. Since its beginning, the tournament has raised $340,000 to support the summer learning program. In addition to the tournament, several businesses provided sponsorship and gift donations for raffle drawings and other prizes.
The Navient Community Fund also awarded a $5,000 grant to Head Start to help support the program.
Standing, from left: Dawn Smith, Director of Operations and Beth White, Assistant Executive Director, Luzerne County Head Start; Lisa Stashik, Vice President Office of the Customer Experience, Navient, Luzerne County Head Start Board of Directors; John Zemetro, Senior Director of Servicing Operations, Navient
We are excited to welcome back our staff for the 2023-2024 School Year! Current staff who have a position/assignment change will be notified directlly via letter prior to the return date. For those staff who are not contacted directly, return will be to their own position and center assignment.
Important Return to Work Dates for Staff:
8/14/23 – Center Managers, Teachers, Associate Teachers, Classroom Aides, Family Workers, Regional Nurses and Health Assistants return to work on Monday, August 14th.
8/21/23 – Cooks and Nutrition Aides return to work on Monday, August 21st.
8/22/23 – The ‘All Staff’ meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 22nd at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
9/4/23 – Offices are closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September 4th.
9/5/23 – The first day of class for children is Tuesday, September 5th.
CLICK HERE for the 2023-2024 Program Year Calendar
CLICK HERE for a list of available career opportunities
Luzerne County Head Start, Inc. held its 58th annual anniversary celebration and alumni scholarship luncheon on Monday, May 15th. Thirty-five individuals were recognized for milestone years of service at Head Start. Four community members also received the agency’s Outstanding Community Partner award for their exemplary dedication to the mission of Head Start.
Lynn Evans Biga, executive director at LCHS, was awarded the agency’s third annual ‘Bold Leadership Award’ and recognized for 45 years of service; for 34 of those years she has served as Luzerne County Head Start’s executive director.
Former Head Start student, Amber Growhowski, served as keynote speaker. Grohowski is a 2016 graduate from Greater Nanticoke Area. She received her degree in neuroscience from Wilkes University in 2020, and is currently employed as a surgical neurophysiologist at Procirca’s Center for Clinical Neurophysiology in Williamsport.
Additionally, 15 students who will graduate from high schools in Luzerne and Susquehanna Counties received more than $22,000 in scholarship awards that are funded by individuals and businesses in the community.
The event was sponsored by The Benco Family Foundation and was held at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Approximately 275 individuals from the community and agency were in attendance. This is the first time the event was held in person since 2019.
Celebrating 5 years of service at LCHS:
From left to right: Mackenzie Drago, teacher, Carson Street Center; Traci Kieser, family educator, Early Head Start, Edwardsville; Jessica Rittinger, teacher, Tunkhannock Center; Krista Moss, teacher, Beekman Street Center; Tarika Mateo Santiago, associate teacher, Beekman Street Center; Aliesha Martin, associate teacher, Plains Center; Maureen Flynn, payroll administrator, Central Office; Pam Stuart, regional nurse, COCU, Dodson, Fairview, Heights & Kistler Centers; Kati Autolitano, family engagement specialist, Central Office; Maria Price, family educator, Early Head Start, Wilkes-Barre
Missing from Photo: Amanda Brooks, regional nurse, LCCC/Nanticoke, Nanticoke, Plymouth New St. Centers
Celebrating 10 years of service at LCHS:
From Left to Right: Nilsa Arias, associate teacher, Dodson Center; Elaine Cussatt, family worker, Carson Street Center; Michelle Cantwell, teacher, Nanticoke Center; Jessica Schneider, family educator, Early Head Start, Edwardsville; Christine Fritz, lead family worker, Beekman Street Center
Celebrating 15 years of service at LCHS:
From Left to Right: Lisa Sarnak, associate teacher, LCCC/Nanticoke center; Jesse Simon, IT tech support, Central Office; Angela Hosey, fiscal manager, Central Office; Colleen Golden, associate teacher, Beekman St. Center; Carol Swithers, regional nurse, Beekman St. Center; Lynn Watters, assistant HR manager, Central Office; Mary Wolfram, ERSEA recruiter, Central Office
Missing from Photo: Rebecca Norton, family engagement specialist, Central Office & Juanita Rodriguez, family educator, Early Head Start, Hazleton
Celebrating 20 years of service at LCHS:
Cheryl Capece, teacher, Beekman St. Center
Missing from Photo: Renie Woodruff, associate teacher, Mehoopany Center
Celebrating 25 years of service at LCHS:
Bridget McGinely, teacher, Beekman St. Center
Celebrating 35 years of service at LCHS:
Kelly Lyons, family engagement specialist, Central Office
Celebrating 45 years of service at LCHS:
Lynn Evans Biga, executive director, Central Office
Recipient of the 2023 Bold Leadership Award
From Left to Right: Mainet Mejia-Arroyo, 10 years of service, LCHS Board of Directors; Carl Goeringer Jr., 30 years of service, LCHS Board of Directors; Mary Ellen Klimchok, 15 years of services, LCHS bus driver
Missing from Photo: Beverly Kuprionas, 10 years of service, foster grandparent
2023 Outstanding Community Partner Awards:
From left to right: Sandra Serhan & Marie Meade, Harveys Lake Community News
Award Presented by: Eva Kennedy, LCHS regional nurse, Back Mountain, Mehoopany and Tunkhannock Centers
Darcie Schaffer, Volunteers in Medicine
Award Presented by: Allyson Leskowsky, LCHS health specialist, Central Office
Beth Kratz, Greater Nanticoke Area Family Center and Pre-K Counts
Award Presented by: Brittany Murtha, LCHS family worker, Nanticoke Center
Trooper Anthony Petroski, Pennsylvania State Police, Hazleton barracks
Award Presented by: Mirian Lozano, LCHS family worker, Vine West Center
2023 Alumni Scholarship Recipients:
Front Row from left to right: Abigail Domoracki, Pittston Area; Evelyn Pourmonir, Pittston Area; Samantha Jimenez, Wilkes-Barre Area; Jonathan Cardona, Wyoming Valley West; Samera Buchanan, Greater Nanticoke Area; Annable Bauman, Elk Lake
Back Row from left to right: Abigail Backes, Pittston Area; Ryan Starr, Pittston Area; Emily Dessoye, Pittston Area; Courtney Dierolf, Wyoming Valley West; Yeidyveth Santana, Wilkes-Barre Area; Sophia Santana, Wilkes-Barre Area
Missing from photo: Eternity Aiken, Wilkes-Barre Area; Mary Popielarz, Dallas; Dylan Way, Elk Lake
Former Head Start student, Amber Grohowski, of Nanticoke, serves as keynote speaker at Head Start’s 58th annual luncheon and alumni scholarship celebration. Grohowski was the recipient of Head Start’s Fran Williams Memorial Scholarship in 2016.
WHAT: Luzerne County Head Start’s 58th annual alumni scholarship luncheon WHEN: Monday, May 15, 2023 from 12pm – 2pm WHERE: Mohegan Pennsylvania | 1280 PA-315, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 ABOUT: Head Start alumni will be recognized with scholarships for higher education; staff and community partners will be awarded for their outstanding service to LCHS
Fifteen Luzerne County Head Start (LCHS) alumni from seven school districts in Luzerne and Susquehanna Counties who will continue their education after high school will be honored at LCHS’s 58th anniversary luncheon. The celebration will take place on Monday, May 15 at Mohegan Pennsylvania, Plains Twp. Near Wilkes-Barre.
This year, LCHS will recognize 15 students with scholarships totaling $22,100. To date, the LCHS alumni scholarship program has awarded 333 scholarships totaling $333,450.00. The scholarships are provided through private sponsors, including local businesses, organizations, and community leaders. Students who received scholarships submitted applications and were selected by LCHS’s scholarship committee through a point selection process.
In addition to the scholarship awards, staff and community members will be honored for their years of service and dedication to LCHS. Awards will be distributed to LCHS’s 2023 “Outstanding Community Partners,” including Darcie Shaffer, Volunteers in Medicine; Beth Kratz, Greater Nanticoke Area Family Center/Pre-K Counts; Trooper Anthony Petroski, Hazleton State Police; and Marie Meade, Harveys Lake Community News
